Let's talk winches folks

[Whiskey 13]

completely agree.....but the reason I asked about brand is I don't know who makes good quality. So asking brand is an indirect why of asking who does good on capability and durability. Weight is a set number and easy to determine. Price is an afterthought in my opinion. I will pay for something that lasts and works when I need it.

Agreed, willing to pay for something that works. My several Smittybilt winches have never failed me. There have been a few people that have said they consider their winch to be rescue equipment and I believe they are correct. I have had warn winches that were outstanding but I had one M8000 that was a big paper weight. Had it repaired three times before I gave up on it. Just like anything else built by man if the winch is built by the wrong man on the wrong day at the wrong hour the end user gets the shaft. Look for the design specks you want and read as many real reviews as possible.

A winch is no different than a jeep, some people never have a break down and others are always in the shop.

Sponsored

 

[Wabujitsu]

Another shout out for the Harbor Freight Badland winches. My last Jeep had the cheaper 12000 lb ZXR. I used the crap out of it for two years, pulling entire trees, stumps, and bushes out of the ground, large vehicles buried in mud down in ditches, etc. No malfunctions. I think they need to be periodically used to keep them in reliable, working order. I left it on my last Jeep when I traded it in.

I just had a 12000 lb Apex installed today. It is a far better winch. Faster, cycles far longer, submersion water-proof, able to be pressure-washed. Fit and finish is outstanding, with the entire thing being in an aluminum alloy casing. I intend on using the crap out of this one too.

 

[wolf]

Warn 9.0Rc 54 lbs. short drum synthetic line

 

[Bullwinkle]

Warn has the strongest reputation on winches.

However, their made in USA winches are way overpriced; and their VR line, which is price competitive, is made in China.

After buying Warn winches for years and paying through the nose, this time I got a Quadratec Stealth-10 winch. For $600 you get a one-piece cast steel body, 10,000 lbs of pulling power, synthetic rope, both wireless and plug-in controls, and even has a built-in LED that illuminates the drum so you can see what you are doing in the dark.

In my brief experience using it: it looks and feels top quality, and is relatively compact, too. You can actually get your hand around the winch, between the opening of the Mopar steel bumper.

https://www.quadratec.com/p/quadratec/q-performance-stealth-winch/10000lb-synthetic-rope

Does that bumper, or it's cousin, fit my 2019 JL; would buy that whole set up.

 

[desmo2]

Ever see a steel cable snap?

On an aircraft carrier arresting cable...yes. On an off-road vehicle winch cable in the real world...no.

 

[desmo2]

Granted these are extreme examples in the video below but it shows the dangers of a cable letting loose. I'll take me chances with a synthetic rope over a cable any day. Nice to see them bust the myth that a rope just magically falls to the ground when it snaps... it doesn't, but it is much more controlled when it lets loose.

In the movie Jurassic Park, the character Newman had a steel cable on his Jeep winch. It did not snap...and it almost saved him.

 

[SnowDawg]

In the movie Jurassic Park, the character Newman had a steel cable on his Jeep winch. It did not snap...and it almost saved him.

Newman had a steel cable, and he didn't get out. So obviously if he had a synthetic line we would have dino's running wild to this day!

 

[aldo98229]

Does that bumper, or it's cousin, fit my 2019 JL; would buy that whole set up.

It should fit.

 

[dchemphill1]

Another shout out for the Harbor Freight Badland winches. My last Jeep had the cheaper 12000 lb ZXR. I used the crap out of it for two years, pulling entire trees, stumps, and bushes out of the ground, large vehicles buried in mud down in ditches, etc. No malfunctions. I think they need to be periodically used to keep them in reliable, working order. I left it on my last Jeep when I traded it in.

I just had a 12000 lb Apex installed today. It is a far better winch. Faster, cycles far longer, submersion water-proof, able to be pressure-washed. Fit and finish is outstanding, with the entire thing being in an aluminum alloy casing. I intend on using the crap out of this one too.

Matt's Off-road recovery uses badland winch brand and it works well for a guy who makes a living out of recovering stuck 4x4 er's and huge campers.

 

[Mx5red]

What I have not read once in 4 pages of comments is where a cheaper brand has actually failed somebody. The assumption seems to be that by spending more on say a Warn, you are buying an extra layer of reliability. Sadly there doesn't seem to be ANY evidence to support the notion that spending more, double or triple even buys you any more than a name plate. That said, the only winches I have ever owned were a couple of Warn's.

I read a couple posts on here about the Harbor Freight badlands winch malfunctioning.
@wibornz posted one, then I think I read he or someone else say they’ve also seen one fail.
I’m not trying to rag on HF, my point is that machines can fail. There definitely aren’t that many people posting stories, so I felt fine buying an inexpensive one for my use case.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ou-do-to-your-jeep-jl-today.3033/post-1658250

 

[Bullwinkle]

It should fit.

I should have asked that differently, which one is that and or who makes that bumper?

 

[oldcjguy]

I read a couple posts on here about the Harbor Freight badlands winch malfunctioning.
@wibornz posted one, then I think I read he or someone else say they’ve also seen one fail.
I’m not trying to rag on HF, my point is that machines can fail. There definitely aren’t that many people posting stories, so I felt fine buying an inexpensive one for my use case.
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...ou-do-to-your-jeep-jl-today.3033/post-1658250

I saw a video of one failing. The guy had it mounted on a pickup with an after market bumper he installed or something. The bumper flexed and deformed THEN the winch broke. The frame of the winch cracked and a piece broke off when the bumper flexed. The winch kept working even after the break, he didn't know it broke until later. He was also trying to pull out a stump that was never going to be "pulled" out. IMHO that was user error and/or a bad installation. His warn winch failed too. It just stopped working it didn't break.

 

[oldcjguy]

What ever you get, make sure you put some kind of kill switch or relay on the main power cables. Warn makes a good switch so does stinger. You don't want to get into a small accident or have something rubbing over time that causes the power cable going to the winch short. You could burn your jeep down. Only have that main cable energized when you need it, not all the time.

 

[aldo98229]

I should have asked that differently, which one is that and or who makes that bumper?

Ah. That’s the Mopar steel bumper.

 

[GATORB8]

Ah. That’s the Mopar steel bumper.

@Bullwinkle

There are knock off Mopar Steel bumpers on Ebay and Amazon. While the quality isn't perfect, those who have picked them up seem to be happy.

One example:
https://www.amazon.com/ECOTRIC-Off-...ds=jl+steel+bumper&qid=1634301520&sr=8-4&th=1

Sponsored